Why One Expert Thinks Canada’s AI Chatbot Ban Would Put Kids at Greater Risk

The push to ban children from social media is gaining momentum in Canada. Culture Minister Marc Miller and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew both want a minimum age of 16, and now some are asking whether AI chatbots should be next. Technology law expert and University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist thinks that would be a serious mistake.

Geist’s core argument is straightforward: AI isn’t like social media. It’s quietly becoming part of tools people already use every day, from search engines and word processors to school software. Drawing a legal line around “AI chatbots” sounds simple, but enforcing it would mean asking every Canadian to verify their age through a third-party service just to use basic digital tools. That’s not child protection, Geist says. That’s mass surveillance.

There’s also the question of what actually happens when you block a teenager from a mainstream platform. Geist calls it a substitution problem. A 15-year-old who can’t access ChatGPT or Gemini doesn’t just stop using AI, they find something else. That something else is often an offshore service or an open-source model with no content moderation, no safety filters, and no crisis intervention routing. In trying to protect kids, the government could end up pushing them somewhere far less safe.

Geist also argues that cutting off AI access isn’t just risky, it’s counterproductive. These tools have real educational value and provide meaningful accessibility benefits for many young people. A blanket ban would likely face Charter challenges too, given that it restricts how young Canadians access and share information.

His alternative is for the government to skip the ban and do the harder work. That means an AI Transparency Act, stronger and more modern privacy laws, and clear legal obligations for companies to prioritize user safety. Geist isn’t against protecting kids, he just thinks a politically convenient ban isn’t the same thing as an effective one.

Geist previously opposed banning kids from social media saying it won’t work, and he’s bringing that same argument to the AI chatbot debate.

Do you think kids under 16 should be banned from social media and AI chatbots? Banning something just tempts kids to get access and workarounds, as we’ve already seen down under in Australia.